1954-2000s: Kaijū
Гігантські монстри
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Kaijū (from Japanese "strange beast") is a film genre that features monsters, usually attacking a major Japanese city or engaging other monsters in battle. It is a subgenre of tokusatsu (special effects-based) entertainment.
Related terms include kaijū eiga (monster movie), a film featuring giant monsters or a single monster; kaijin (referring to roughly humanoid monsters); and daikaiju (giant kaiju), specifically meaning the larger variety of monsters. The term ultra-kaiju is longhand for kaiju in the Ultra Series.
The Ultra Series is the collective name for all the shows produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman (from "Urutoraman: Kûsô tokusatsu shirîzu" (1966–1967)), his many brethren, and the myriad Ultra Monsters.
Godzilla, directed by Ishirō Honda, is an early and influential classic in the monster film genre and was initially released by Toho in 1954.
Toho was inspired to make the original Godzilla after the commercial success of the 1952 re-release of King Kong, and the 1953 success of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. The success of the Godzilla series itself would go on to inspire Gorgo, Gamera, Yonggary, and many other monster films worldwide.
Godzilla character has been one of the most recognizable symbols in Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an well-known facet of Japanese films, and was the one of the first examples of the popular kaiju and tokusatsu subgenres in Japanese entertainment.
Shōwa era. (1954-1980)
Heisei era. (1984-1999)
Millennium series. (1999-2004)
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Kaijū (from Japanese "strange beast") is a film genre that features monsters, usually attacking a major Japanese city or engaging other monsters in battle. It is a subgenre of tokusatsu (special effects-based) entertainment.
Related terms include kaijū eiga (monster movie), a film featuring giant monsters or a single monster; kaijin (referring to roughly humanoid monsters); and daikaiju (giant kaiju), specifically meaning the larger variety of monsters. The term ultra-kaiju is longhand for kaiju in the Ultra Series.
The Ultra Series is the collective name for all the shows produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman (from "Urutoraman: Kûsô tokusatsu shirîzu" (1966–1967)), his many brethren, and the myriad Ultra Monsters.
Godzilla, directed by Ishirō Honda, is an early and influential classic in the monster film genre and was initially released by Toho in 1954.
Toho was inspired to make the original Godzilla after the commercial success of the 1952 re-release of King Kong, and the 1953 success of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. The success of the Godzilla series itself would go on to inspire Gorgo, Gamera, Yonggary, and many other monster films worldwide.
Godzilla character has been one of the most recognizable symbols in Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an well-known facet of Japanese films, and was the one of the first examples of the popular kaiju and tokusatsu subgenres in Japanese entertainment.
Shōwa era. (1954-1980)
- The Showa era refers to the giant monster films made between Godzilla (1954) and Super Monster (1980)
Heisei era. (1984-1999)
- The Heisei era of Godzilla films follow a different continuity from the Showa films, ignoring every movie except the original 1954 Godzilla.
- The Gamera Heisei series began in 1995 with the release of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe and ended in 2006 with Gamera: The Brave. The first three Heisei Gamera films were directed by Shusuke Kaneko and all share continuity, while Gamera: The Brave was released much later by Kadokawa and is a standalone film.
- Mothra received her first standalone film since the original Mothra in 1996 following the temporary close of the Godzilla series - The Rebirth of Mothra trilogy
Millennium series. (1999-2004)
- One of the most notable features of the Millennium series is its staggered continuity. Unlike the Showa and Heisei series, the Millennium series does not follow one single continuity, and consists mostly of standalone films.
- The Millennium Series only applies to the Godzilla series, as the rest of Japan is still in the Heisei era.
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- DirectorsMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.Country: USA
Visual effects supervisor (uncredited) Willis H. O'Brien
© RKO Radio Pictures
Kaiju: King Kong - DirectorErnest B. SchoedsackStarsTerry MooreBen JohnsonRobert ArmstrongA young woman who has raised a giant gorilla from an infant brings him to Hollywood years later seeking her fortune.Buoyed by the enormous success of King Kong in 1933 and its profitable theatrical reissues in 1938, 1942, and 1946, RKO had great hopes for Mighty Joe Young. Upon its release in 1949, the film was honored with an Academy Award for Special Effects (a category that did not exist in 1933 for King Kong). The film was unsuccessful at the box office and, as a result, plans to produce a sequel (tentatively titled "Joe Meets Tarzan") were quickly dropped.
The film has become a stop-motion animation classic. Special effects artists consider it highly influential, with the elaborate orphanage rescue sequence lauded as one of the great stop-motion sequences in film history.
Though Willis H. O'Brien gets top special-effects billing, Ray Harryhausen actually did 85%-90% of the stop-motion animation for this film, although the animation is based on O'Brien's designs and storyboards.
This was the first feature film to which Ray Harryhausen contributed stop-motion animation effects. - DirectorEugène LouriéStarsPaul HubschmidPaula RaymondCecil KellawayA ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and, ultimately, New York City.Country: USA
© Jack Dietz Productions (as Mutual Pictures of California)
Animation & technical effects created by Ray Harryhausen
This film (which was inspired by the successful 1952 re-release of King Kong (1933)) was the first film to feature a giant creature awakened or mutated by a Nuclear Bomb.
Kaiju: Rhedosaurus - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.Gojira - 1. Godzilla.
The original Toho's classic
© Toho Company
Kaiju: Godzilla - DirectorsIshirô HondaTerry O. MorseStarsRaymond BurrTakashi ShimuraMomoko KôchiAn American reporter visiting Tokyo becomes a witness to the city's destruction by a dinosaur-like beast awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing.Jewell Enterprises re-edited, and eliminated many scenes from the film for American audiences. They combined the original Japanese footage of Godzilla with new American-made footage of Raymond Burr as an American reporter covering the monster's activities
- DirectorsLuigi CozziIshirô HondaTerry O. MorseStarsRaymond BurrAkira TakaradaAkihiko HirataWhen American reporter Steve Martin investigates a series of mysterious disasters off the coast of Japan, he comes face to face with an ancient creature so powerful and so terrifying, it can reduce Tokyo to a smoldering graveyard. Nuclear weapon testing resurrected this relic from the Jurassic age, and now it's rampaging across Japan. At night, Godzilla wades through Tokyo leaving death and destruction in his wake, disappearing into Tokyo Bay when his rage subsides. Conventional weapons are useless against him; but renowned scientist Dr. Serizawa has discovered a weapon that could destroy all life in the bay - including Godzilla. But which disaster is worse, Godzilla's fury, of the death of Tokyo Bay?
- DirectorsMotoyoshi OdaIshirô HondaStarsHiroshi KoizumiSetsuko WakayamaMinoru ChiakiScout pilots for a fishing company are startled to discover a second Godzilla, whose battle with rival monster Anguirus threatens to destroy Osaka.Gojira - 2. Godzilla Raids Again.
© Toho Company - DirectorRobert GordonStarsKenneth TobeyFaith DomergueDonald CurtisA giant, radioactive octopus rises from the Philippine Trench to terrorize the North American Pacific Coast.Country: USA
© Columbia Pictures Corporation, Clover Productions
Visual Effects by Ray Harryhausen
This is the film that brought together producer Charles H. Schneer and special effects legend Ray Harryhausen. Their professional relationship would last until Clash of the Titans (1981), the final feature for both men. - DirectorsEdward NassourIsmael RodríguezStarsGuy MadisonPatricia MedinaCarlos RivasAn American cowboy living in Mexico discovers his cattle are being eaten by a giant prehistoric dinosaur.Country: USA, Mexico
© Películas Rodríguez, Nassour Studios Inc.
The first feature film to combine stop-motion animation with anamorphic Cinemascope and color. - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsKenji SaharaYumi ShirakawaAkihiko HirataA mining engineer investigates the deaths of his colleagues, discovering prehistoric nymphs and a creature capable of flying - and wreaking havoc - at supersonic speeds.Radon the Sky Monster
© Toho Company
The name of the monster in Japan was "Radon". However, because there was a soap by that name in the US, when dubbed for the US market the name was changed to "Rodan".
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Toho Studio's first Kaiju movie filmed in color
First Japanese monster movie filmed in color.
George Takei was the first Japanese-American actor to do voice-overs for Toho's movies. Previously, Chinese-American actors were used. At the time, Chinese actors had filled a niche in Hollywood, portraying Japanese soldiers and civilians in war movies.
Toho floated the idea of making a sequel of sorts to this movie, but featuring giant insects. However, the idea died in the planning stages because American audiences were in the midst of a wave of giant insect movies (i.e., Them! (1954), Tarantula (1955), The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Black Scorpion (1957), The Spider (1958)). - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsKenji SaharaYumi ShirakawaMomoko KôchiShortly after a giant robot destroys a village, aliens from outer space arrive offering friendship. Will the people of Earth tie these two events together?The Mysterians
© Toho Company - DirectorNathan JuranStarsWilliam HopperJoan TaylorThomas Browne HenryThe first U.S. spaceship to Venus crash-lands off the coast of Sicily on its return trip. A dangerous, lizard-like creature comes with it and quickly grows gigantic.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsJeff MorrowMara CordayMorris AnkrumGlobal panic ensues when it is revealed that a mysterious UFO is actually a giant bird that flies at supersonic speed and has no regard for life or architecture.Country: USA
© Clover Productions - DirectorsIshirô HondaMotoyoshi OdaStarsKôzô NomuraAyumi SonodaKoreya SendaOriginal Japanese version. Research in the Tohoku region comes across a monster known to the locals as the mountain god Baradagi.The Great Monster Baran / Giant Monster Varan / Baran: Monster from the East
© Toho Company - DirectorsJerry A. BaerwitzIshirô HondaMotoyoshi OdaStarsMyron HealeyTsuruko KobayashiClifford KawadaHeavily alerted American version of Japan's Varan. A prehistoric behemoth is unwittingly awoken from hibernation due to a U.S-Japanese military experiment for economic means on it's watery lair.This movie was originally released in Japan in 1958 as Daikaijû Baran ("Giant Monster Varan"). The American version has a heavily altered plot, tons of additional footage featuring American actors, and most of Akira Ifukube's music is replaced. All in all, Varan The Unbelievable features only about fifteen minutes of footage (mostly shots of the monster) from the original Japanese film.
- DirectorEugène LouriéStarsGene EvansAndré MorellJohn TurnerMarine atomic tests cause changes in the ocean's ecosystem resulting in dangerous blobs of radiation and the resurrection of a dormant dinosaur that threatens London.Country: UK, USA
© Artistes Alliance Ltd., Diamond Pictures Corp.
Kaiju: Behemoth - DirectorEugène LouriéStarsBill TraversWilliam SylvesterVincent WinterGreedy sailors capture a giant lizard off the coast of Ireland and sell it to a London circus, inciting the wrath of the creature's much-larger mother.Country: UK
© King Bros. Productions Ltd. - DirectorJohn LemontStarsMichael GoughMargo JohnsJess ConradDr.Decker comes back from Africa. During one year, he came across a way of growing plants and animals to an enormous size. He brings back a baby chimpanzee and he decides to use his chimp, 'Konga' to 'get rid of them'.Country: UK
© Merton Park Studios - DirectorsPoul BangSidney W. PinkStarsBent MejdingAsbjørn AndersenPovl WøldikeAfter copper miners discover a piece of the frozen tail of a giant prehistoric reptile in Lapland, scientists inadvertently bring it back to life.Country: Denmark, USA
© Saga Studio
Danish-American co-production, produced by American International Pictures and Saga Studio, and is—upon close examination—two distinctly different films helmed by two different directors.
The original version, which was shot in Danish, was directed by Danish director Poul Bang and released in Denmark on February 25, 1961.
The American version, which was in English with a nearly identical cast, was directed by the film's American producer-director Sidney W. Pink; this version was initially deemed virtually unreleasable by American International Pictures and had to be extensively reworked by the film's Danish-American screenwriter, Ib Melchior, before being finally released in America in 1962 - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsFurankî SakaiHiroshi KoizumiKyôko KagawaAn expedition to Infant Island uncovers a native tribe and twin tiny fairy priestesses of a mythical deity, who sets out to rescue the pair after they are kidnapped by a greedy businessman.Mothra
© Toho Company
Toho's second most popular kaiju character after Godzilla - DirectorsIshirô HondaTom MontgomeryStarsTadao TakashimaKenji SaharaYû FujikiA UN reporter covers the appearance of a prehistoric monster that emerges from hibernation, while a pharmaceutical company seeks publicity with a monster of their own.Gojira - 3. King Kong vs. Godzilla.
© Toho Company - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsRyô IkebeYumi ShirakawaAkira KuboA Tokyo scientist and his colleagues shift Earth to avoid a red-hot planet on a collision course.Gorath, the Mysterious Star
© Toho Company
Kaiju: Maguma - DirectorsIshirô HondaShûe MatsubayashiStarsTadao TakashimaYôko FujiyamaYû FujikiWhen an ancient underground civilization and their snake-like guardian plots to reclaim the surface world, those of the surface fights back.a.k.a. Undersea Battleship
a.k.a. Atragon
a.k.a. Flying Supersub Atoragon
© Toho Company
Kaiju: Manda - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsAkira TakaradaYuriko HoshiHiroshi KoizumiWhen greedy tycoons refuse to return Mothra's egg to the people of Infant Island, they must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help when Godzilla arises near Nagoya.Gojira - 4.
Mothra vs. Godzilla
© Toho Company - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsYôsuke NatsukiYuriko HoshiHiroshi KoizumiA detective protects a princess who prophecies Earth's destruction by a powerful space monster; the world's only hope being if Mothra can persuade Godzilla and Rodan to unite and save the planet.Gojira - 5.
a.k.a. Godzilla vs. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
a.k.a. Three Giant Monsters: The Greatest Battle on Earth
© Toho Company
